As opening day nears for the University of Evansville baseball team, we'll be looking at some of the storylines heading into the 2016 season, which will begin on Friday, Feb. 19 at South Alabama.
POSITIONAL PREVIEW: Pitchers and Catchers
University of Evansville head coach Wes Carroll has frequently cited the importance of his senior class this season, and two of the most crucial members of that class may very well be pitchers Connor Strain and Brent Jurceka.
Strain, who is projected to be the opening day starter for the Purple Aces on Friday, enters his final campaign with 23 career starts under his belt, including three victories in each of the past two seasons.
"Connor was our Friday night guy for part of last year, but we're going to need to see some more consistency out of him," Carroll explained. "I've seen him make great strides going into this season, and physically, he's in the best shape of his life. His stuff is a little more electric than it has been, especially in terms of locating his pitches. The biggest thing for him is being able to mentally deal with whatever is coming his way. That comes with maturity, and he's been battle-tested over his freshman, sophomore and junior years. Hopefully, that sets up for an enormous season for him."
Meanwhile, Jurceka has turned into a valuable asset in the bullpen over his past three years, highlighted by nine saves, which ranked fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Orland Park, Ill., native has seen action in 65 games, all out of the bullpen, logging 116 strikeouts over 111 innings.
Joining Strain in the opening weekend will be Patrick Schnieders, who earned two wins and two saves over 53.2 innings of work last season, and freshman Brandon Gomer.
Gomer, a native of Lenexa, Kan., will be one of a number of first-year players that UE will be depending on success for this season.
"Gomer has a really lively arm," Carroll said. "He's a great presence and mature beyond his years. He'll get his first crack on Sunday, and then Alex Weigand, another freshman, is likely going to be our midweek starter. Austin Allinger, who is an explosive set-up guy, is hopefully going to be the guy to bridge the gap over to Jurceka."
Weigand, a left-hander, is a native of Bourbonnais, Ill, and Allinger is hoping to impress after starring for Lakota West High School a year ago.
"These freshmen have earned the opportunity to be a big part of the team," Caroll continued. "You know freshmen are always going to be challenged, especially with Division I line-ups, but our goal is for them to be pitching like sophomores by the time we get to Valley play. They've shown great poise so far, and we're still going to be there to help them with their development. I also feel like we have a great support system around our pitching staff, both from an offensive and defensive standpoint as well."
Perhaps fittingly, with college experience lacking on the mound, Carroll will be turning to some veterans behind the plate to help his pitching staff, beginning with Travis Tokarek and Billy Lipari. Both players saw action in over 30 games a year ago, and Boomer Synek, a former All-MVC honorable mention at second base, will be in the mix for playing time as well.
"I think we have a lot of depth behind the plate," Carroll said. "It's going to be a catcher-by-committee situation. Both Travis and Billy saw a lot of time back there last year, but with Trey Hair at second base now, we've shifted Boomer to behind the plate. He caught prior to coming here, and he's got a great feel for the game."Â
Carroll, Fick and Mahon own rare distinction
Out of nearly 300 college baseball programs that are either playing in NCAA Division I or in transition to Division I, only seven can claim all three full-time coaches as alumni. UE is counted among that rare group, beginning with head coach Wes Carroll, who graduated in 2001. Cody Fick, a former All-American, joined the staff full-time prior to the 2013 campaign, and Jake Mahon, who was a volunteer assistant last season, joined the program full-time this past summer.
The other programs that feature an all-alumni full-time coaching staff are The Citadel, Connecticut, Florida State, Quinnipiac, Rutgers and Seton Hall. Grambling also falls into that category but only carries one full-time assistant.
UE has a strong history of hiring former athletes as team personnel, including four current head coaches in Carroll, women's soccer coach Krista McKendree, men's soccer coach Marshall Ray and men's basketball coach Marty Simmons. Among the current assistant coaching ranks are men's basketball's Lennox Forrester and Kevon Lacey, swimming and diving's Andy Brown and volleyball's Viera Rajcan.
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